Red Bull: Horner Supports Vettel and His Freedom of Expression

Sebastian Vettel caused a stir on Thursday in Sepang when he chose to describe the sound produced by the new V6 turbo hybrid engines as “crap” during a press conference organized by Red Bull.

Since then, opinions have been divided on the matter, similar to Jenson Button who himself stated that those who were unhappy should just go elsewhere, a rumor has emerged in the paddock. Reportedly, Jean Todt, the president of the FIA, reached out to Christian Horner to express his dissatisfaction with the statements of the four-time world champion. When questioned by the BBC, the Red Bull director denied it: “No one mentioned it to me all weekend.”

For the Briton, the freedom of tone used by Vettel should even be highlighted: « He should be applauded for saying what he thinks. We live in a politically correct world, but part of Red Bull’s philosophy, which has sometimes been quite uncomfortable, is to offer drivers freedom of expression. » Horner is referring here, in particular, to the multiple stances taken by Mark Webber, in his time, when it came to criticizing his team for the choices it made.

« Sebastian expressed an opinion and I don’t think anyone would hold a driver accountable for having an opinion. He is not the only one. There are different opinions and he has the right [to have one], » he added.

It should be noted that, on this issue, Article 13.7 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations states that: « If, in the opinion of the F1 Commission, a competitor […] in any way, brings disrepute to the Championship, the FIA may [exclude them] immediately. » This rule was introduced into the regulations during Max Mosley’s tenure to prevent possible criticism from the drivers about Formula 1.

As a reminder, in 2012, after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Jean Todt had alerted those involved in the discipline through a letter addressed to the teams about the lapses in language observed that could, according to the FIA, harm the interest of the discipline.